WONZ 330 – The Avro 626

Guests: Sjeord “Chewy” Bakker, Tony “Chipps” Chippendale, Keith “Buck” Harrison, John Lanham, Paul McSweeny, Rene “Red” Redmond.

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 20th of July 2025

Published: 23rd of July 2025

Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes, 21 seconds

In this episode Dave Homewood chats with six ex-RNZAF members who were involved in the restoration and operation of the world’s only remaining complete Avro 626, back in the 1980s. It is now 40 years since the Avro returned to the skies.

The Avro 626 was a 1930-designed advanced trainer from Britain. Four examples were purchased in 1934 by the New Zealand government, to replace the obsolete Bristol Fighters and to work alongside the Hawker Tomtits in training aircrew at Wigram. Purchased at the same time as the first twelve Vickers Vildebeests, the two new fleets became the the first new aircraft since the NZPAF had become the RNZAF in 1934.

Described by the press reports in 1935 upon arrival as the “Last Word in Training Machines”. It had multiple roles:
– Dual-control flying instruction.
– Blind and night flying.
– Offensive gunnery, with Vickers gun, or camera gun.
– Defensive gunnery with Vickers, or camera gun.
– Bombing by observer, prone position.
– Bombing by pilot.
– Wireless telegraphy and telephony using two-way radio equipment operating either on short or medium wave-lengths
– Aerial photography and survey work
– Navigation using elaborate navigating gear for the time which includes equipment for night flying.
– Message picking-up.
– Casualty evacuation

The Avro 626s arrived on the 25th of September 1935 aboard the SS Middlesex. They were allocated to ‘A’ Flight of the Flying Training School, RNZAF Station Wigram. NZ201 was the first to fly in New Zealand, on the 4th of October 1935. NZ202, NZ203, and NZ204 were not assembled until early 1936.

The Avros were used to train aircrew of both the regular RNZAF and of the Territorial Air Force. They also appeared at lots of air pageants around the country through the late 1930s. And when the first Wireless Operator-Air Gunner course was held at Wigram in 1939 for TAF aircrew members the Avros were used with the Scarff rings fitted.

As the war progressed the Avros were replaced by the likes of the Harvards and Oxfords, and they took on secondary roles. All four had been retired by mid-1943, with three of them reduced to spares, but NZ203, which had spent part of the war as the Wigram station runabout, was converted in June 1943 to become instructional airframe INST90 with the Hastings Air Training Corps squadron.

Popular belief has always had it that the aircraft was then sold to Jim Frogley of Havelock North in May 1947, but in this interview Red Redmond reveals what really happened there.

Jim Frogley flew it occasionally till he sold it as a derelict airframe to the RNZAF Museum in October 1980. It was trucked in poor condition to RNZAF Base Ohakea, and between November 1981 and July 1985 the Avro 626 was painstakingly restored back to its former glory by a team of skilled staff. Wing Commander John Lanham flew it again for the first time after restoration on the 8th of July 1985.

Some of the key members of the restoration team, the pilot and its last minder at the RNZAF Historic Flight all talk about those days when great things were achieved by highly skilled people.

Quick Links:

• The Air Force Museum of New Zealand

• The Eventful Years – The Avro 626 NZ203 (ZK-ACP) appears in this 1958 documentary

• The 1937 Shipment Mystery as mention is Solved Here on the Wings Over New Zealand Forum

Below is a video version of this episode with lots of photos from the collection of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand to illustrate the stories.